


Words on Your Tongue

by Winner_of_the_disability_bingo



Series: Soulmate September 2020 [11]
Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Catra does some cat things, Catra-centric (She-Ra), F/F, Gen, POV Catra (She-Ra), Soulmates, because Catra is a cat, kinda angsty??, whether its platonic or romantic is up to you
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-11
Updated: 2020-09-11
Packaged: 2021-03-06 17:28:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,839
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26402686
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Winner_of_the_disability_bingo/pseuds/Winner_of_the_disability_bingo
Summary: Soulmate September Day 11- It's impossible to lie to your soulmateCatra had never been able to lie to Adora. It had always been that way. Catra lied to survive. She could do it just fine with everyone else. Everyone except Adora.
Relationships: Adora & Catra (She-Ra), could be considered Adora/Catra
Series: Soulmate September 2020 [11]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1904476
Comments: 3
Kudos: 93





	Words on Your Tongue

**Author's Note:**

> I understand that the way this fic progresses doesn't actually fit with the prompt but I was on a roll and am honestly really proud of this one

Catra had never been able to lie to Adora. It had always been that way. Catra lied to survive. She could do it just fine with everyone else. Everyone except Adora.

Sometimes, when they were young, they stayed up late just trying to lie to each other. Dozens of ‘I don’t like the ration bars’ and ‘my favourite colour is blue’ thrown back and forth. They would fall asleep giggling to each other about their weird connection.

No one ever knew about it. Catra was good at covering for both of them. She trusted Adora with everything. Even her real name (because let’s face it, there was no way Adora could ever have really believed her name was Catra Applesauce Meowmeow).

-

When Adora became a Force Captain, Catra was the first one she told. They decided to celebrate by stealing a skiff and driving it into the whispering woods.

Admittedly, it _was_ kind of Catra’s fault that they crashed. It was equally Adora’s fault, though, so really, Catra couldn’t be blamed for it.

It took an hour to find her. An hour of panicked anger and worry. Eventually, Catra found her lying unconscious a few metres away from the tree they nearly crashed into.

She was okay. Maybe brain-damaged, but hardly anyone would notice.

On the way back to the Fright-Zone, Adora was acting weird. She often looked back at the woods, or turned as if she had heard a voice behind her. Eventually, Catra had had enough and she stopped the skiff right outside the Fright-Zone. Adora didn’t even notice.

“Adora, what’s wrong?” Adora hummed, still slightly out of it, before shaking her head and frowning.

“There was something in the woods. Something important. Something that I need to check out again.” Catra sighed. Of course Adora would find something weird in the woods. The girl was practically overflowing with magic, not that she knew that.

“Alright. If you come back with me now and leave tonight, I’ll try to cover for you. Be back before sunrise, and be sure to come back home, or I promise I’ll never speak a word again.” Adora grinned, pulling her into a near-crushing hug. They both chuckled lightly at the joke. After all, Adora always came back.

They knew the weight of the promise. Just like lying, if they made a promise, they kept it, to the best of their abilities. Even when they didn’t want to keep it. They physically couldn’t lie, and they physically couldn’t knowingly break a promise.

-

The next morning, Shadow Weaver asked, demanded, interrogated. Catra didn’t speak.

Eventually, Shadow Weaver had had enough and sent the cadets out to Thaymor to look for Adora. It was midday and Adora still wasn’t back. Catra didn’t speak.

She found Adora in the middle of the fight. Where she always was. Catra watched as she protected the people of Thaymor. The more Catra looked, the more she found it odd. They had been told it was a rebel outpost, but there were no fighters. She understood lying about something like that to Adora. She was stubborn, her morals were stronger than anything Catra knew of. She wouldn’t fight innocents. As she watched, Catra didn’t speak.

She jumped onto Adora, purring and grinning. Adora pushed her away. Catra didn’t speak.

There was a princess in front of them. One who smelled just like Adora and completely different. She destroyed the tanks. She nearly killed the soldiers. Catra watched as she knelt in the middle of the battlefield. As she was overcome with a bright blue light and in her place, was Adora. They stared at each other. Catra didn’t speak.

Hordak promoted her to Force Captain. Shadow Weaver sent her on a mission to Plumeria. Adora was there. Catra didn’t speak.

Shadow Weaver ordered her to work with Scorpia. They attack Salineas. She fought Adora. She lost. Catra didn’t speak.

Scorpia told her she’s a princess. She yowled, but didn’t say anything. They made a plan. They attended the ball. They captured Adora’s friends. They celebrated. Catra didn’t speak.

Adora came for the princess. For the _princess_ and not _Catra._ They fought, and she cornered them at the exit. She gave them the sword. Adora thanked her. Catra didn’t speak.

She found Entrapta in the vents. Adora left her too. Scorpia helped convince her to stay. She told Catra about a stash of First-One’s tech in the whispering woods. Catra didn’t speak.

Adora opened the door, and Catra followed. She stole a crystal while Adora argued with the hologram. The system reacted, which Entrapta did _not_ tell her about. They’re running, together, just like they used to. Suddenly, they were kids again, and they were fighting. Adora’s desperate words and Catra’s growls and hisses. Adora fell off the edge and, as Catra stood above her, begged for her to say something, _anything_. Catra didn’t speak.

Entrapta hacked the planet. Catra fought and defeated Shadow Weaver. They invaded Bright-Moon while the Princesses were weak. They were winning. Then, the other princesses joined them. They had managed to keep their magic. They were using each other’s magic to make themselves stronger. They lost. Hordak made her second-in-command. Catra didn’t speak.

-

She sent bot after bot to destroy what’s left of the whispering woods. The Glitter Princess and the archer boy accidently captured her. They interrogated her and tried to drag her to Bright-Moon. She purred and growled and hissed and trilled. Scorpia managed to find them in time, and she showed them what Entrapta was really doing. The Princess raged. Catra didn’t speak.

Hordak decided she wasn’t doing enough and sent her with Scorpia and Entrapta to the Frozen-Wastes. A few days later, Adora attacked. She used the virus stone and Adora nearly killed her. The First-One’s technology attacked them. Scorpia saved them and they ran. Catra didn’t speak.

Shadow Weaver was going to Beast Island. She said she was proud of her. That she cared. She gave the sorceress her pendent. She escaped. She yowled and yowled until she thought that maybe she had lost her voice. Scorpia tried to make her feel better, but she couldn’t tell her. Somehow, Hordak found out. He interrogated her. Tortured her. Catra didn’t speak.

-

Entrapta saved her from the death sentence. She and Scorpia were sent into the Crimson-Waste to find an important piece of First-One’s tech. Scorpia helped interrogate the bar patrons. They followed Adora’s trail, eventually being cornered by Tung-Lashor’s gang. He was weak, and she defeated him easily. She uses the gang to capture Adora. They celebrated, and she thought that maybe she could stay there with Scorpia forever. She and Scorpia interrogated Adora. She said that Shadow-Weaver was on her side. Catra didn’t speak.

They came back to the Fright-Zone with a Princess and a key. They were going to open that portal, no matter what it took. Entrapta discovered the portal would destroy reality. Even better. Before she could stop herself, Entrapta was on the floor, shaking with aftershocks. Her growls warned Scorpia of the same fate for her. With no one to stop her, she ran past the Princesses and opened the portal. Adora begged her to stop. Catra didn’t speak.

She woke up and everything was perfect. It was perfect and there was something deeply wrong. No matter how much she tried to, Catra didn’t speak.

Adora could tell something was wrong. Suddenly, they were back where they started. Adora was screaming, and Catra let go. The feeling that came next was something she couldn’t quite describe. It was painful, then peaceful, then Nothing. Then, the _wrongness_ that surrounded the whole world filled her. He felt herself break apart and come back different. Come back _wrong_. Catra didn’t speak.

Not-Her followed Adora as reality collapsed. She didn’t know what she was doing. She wasn’t sure who she was. Not-Her hissed and growled. Adora screamed and the ground collapsed under them. She welcomes the Nothing. Adora reached for her. Catra didn’t speak.

-

She took command of the Horde. She oversaw the excavation in the Crimson-Waste and met Double-Trouble. The Shape-Shifter decided it was their one goal in life to get her to talk. Catra didn’t speak.

She woke every night from dreams -from memories- of Entrapta’s screams. Of Adora’s rage. Of the _wrong_ that had enveloped her entire being. She checked in through Double-Trouble. Glitter Girl found the hideout and Catra had to blow it up. Double-Trouble saved her. Catra didn’t speak.

Hordak needed Entrapta’s notes. She had Scorpia look. She was so stressed. She knew she hadn’t been very nice to Scorpia, but if she could bring back the recordings, Catra would try to set some time to spend with her. Scorpia had destroyed the recordings. Destroyed Catra’s only chance to satisfy Hordak. Scorpia was saying something, but she didn’t hear. She was angry. So, so _angry_. She blinked and there was blood on her paws, and claw marks on Scorpia’s face. Catra didn’t speak.

She can’t reach Double-trouble and Scorpia is nowhere to be found. She really was alone. Then Double-trouble was back but there was something wrong. They didn’t try to get her to talk. At all. Suddenly, Hordak knew about Entrapta and he was firing at her. The Fright-Zone was collapsing. She won, but Double-trouble had betrayed her. Everything she had worked for was worth absolutely nothing. Glimmer was there, was threatening her. Catra presented her neck. It didn’t matter anyway. Glimmer said something about a weapon before collapsing. Less than a minute later, they were on a ship. Catra didn’t speak.

-

She couldn’t talk, but Horde-Prime looked through Hordak’s memories and decided she would be useful. Glimmer was locked in a room and Catra was left to roam. She explored as much of the ship as she was allowed, always coming back to stand at Glimmer’s door. She let them see each other. They sat back-to-back through the shield. Glimmer talked about her life back on Etheria. Catra didn’t speak.

She rescued Glimmer. She did that one good thing in her life. It would probably be the last thing she ever did. The clones overwhelmed her. They brought her to Horde-Prime. Catra didn’t speak.

Everything was green. Green and fuzzy and almost just like the Nothing from the portal. Her body moved when she didn’t want it to. It smiled and slashed at whoever Horde-Prime asked it to. Adora was in front of her. They fought. Adora had said she had come for Catra, but that couldn’t be right. It didn’t matter. Adora was hurting and Catra didn’t want to fight her anymore. So she ignored the green. Fought the fuzz in her head. Resisted the Nothing. Throughout the whole fight, Catra didn’t speak.

She woke up, and this time, she was on a different ship. Adora was above her. Glimmer and Bow were next to her. She came back. Adora _came back_. For _her_. They were finally going home and, for the first time in nearly three years, Catra spoke.

“Hey Adora.”


End file.
